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Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes is the fourth episode of the second season of The Orville, which aired on January 17, 2019. Ed finds himself behind enemy lines when he crash-lands on a mysterious planet. Meanwhile, Kelly questions why Gordon wants to take the Command Test. The title is a reference to the song "A Puzzlement" from the play The King and I ''in which the King of Siam sings that unless people trust each other, there will be "nothing left on Earth excepting fishes." ''Nothing Left Excepting Fishes was jointly written by Brannon Braga and André Bormanis,'' and directed by Jon Cassar. Music was composed by Joel McNeely. Plot Act 1 Lieutenant Tharl shows up for the night shift on the Bridge of the [[USS Orville|USS ''Orville]] in his workout sweats. After Commander Kelly Grayson asks him to change into his uniform, Captain Ed Mercer uncharacteristically allows him to stay in his clothes. Grayson notes that Mercer is in a more relaxed mood lately and then tells the bridge crew that they are assigned to a resupply mission to Epsilon 5. Mercer leaves his shift early to watch The King and I with dark matter cartographer Janel Tyler in his quarters. The two agree to reveal their relationship to the rest of the ship. Act 2 Mercer begins telling his workmates, first his best friend, Helmsman Gordon Malloy, and then Grayson, although she says that she already knew. Ed also says that he and Tyler will take a small trip to Sensoria 2 while the Orville continues to Epsilon 5. While in a shuttle to Sensoria, Mercer and Tyler are waylaid by three Marauder-class Krill fighters. Even though the shuttle is cloaked, the fighters vent drive plasma that latches to the shuttle and exposes their position. The fighters easily disable the shuttle's engines, then a Krill destroyer takes the shuttle by tractor beam. Act 3 Grayson tells Second Officer Bortus that the crew will be joined by their new permanent Chief of Security. Malloy formally requests to take the Shipmaster Qualification Test for a command position. Trapped in a prison on the destroyer, a Krill prison guard tortures Tyler until Mercer gives the guards his command codes. Doctor Claire Finn performs a medical and psychological evaluation of Malloy, but the helmsman is anxious and thinks every three-dimensional image of a Rorschach blot test is unspeakably perverse. He refuses to continue and instead performs the command simulation. Back on the destroyer, Teleya enters Mercer's prison chamber and reveals that she was Janel Tyler working undercover. She revels in his shock, then explains that she escaped the Planetary Union and enlisted as an undercover operative to lure Mercer. Suddenly, the ship is attacked by the Chak'tal. Mercer nabs a Krill plasma weapon and flees the ship with Teleya by an escape pod to the surface of a nearby terrestrial world. Act 4 Mercer is knocked unconscious when they land, which allows Teleya to grab the gun. The pod contained a portable distress beacon, which can transmit a signal from high altitude. The pair begin their hike to the nearest mountain peak. Malloy attempts the simulation exercise of the Command Test but fails. Grayson tells him to rest and try again the next morning. Hiking through the forests, Mercer and Teleya are pursued by Chak'tal soldiers hunting for survivors. When dawn comes, Teleya slowly admits they must shelter in a cave at the base of the mountain until night returns. Malloy tells Lieutenant Dorsett about the Command Test and she agrees to grab a drink with him. Grayson overhears the conversation and doubts Malloy's motives. "Are you doing this to pick up chicks?" she asks. He admits it crossed his mind, but that he also wants to challenge himself. Grayson advises him to selflessly seek command. In the cave, Mercer attempts to reason with Teleya that the Krill and the Union will need to work together. After a frustrating conversation concluding with Teleya taunting him for falling in love with the fictitious "Janel," he falls asleep. The next morning, Mercer calculates that a day on this planet lasts 23 days on Earth. If they are to survive, Teleya must allow Mercer to scale the mountain alone with the distress beacon. Though distrustful, she relents. Mercer climbs to the top and sends a message to the Orville, which receives the message and sets a course to the planet. Mercer returns to the cave but four Chak'tal soldiers have picked up his trail. He guides Teleya, hiding her skin from the sunlight with his jacket, to the mountain peak for rescue. At the top, Teleya sees their rescue shuttle is from the Union. She nearly kills him, but the Chak'tal open fire from below. Teleya gives Mercer her gun, and he returns fire until they board the shuttle and escape. Ignoring the strong objection from his Commander and the possibility of a court martial by the admiralty, Mercer releases Teleya back to the Krill. Malloy cannot understand Mercer's decision. "Why take the risk?" he asks. "Lieutenant, that's command," Grayson replies. "Still interested?" Mercer gives "The Best of Billy Joel" to Teleya before she departs and a message for her people: "We can keep fighting each other or we can talk." Mercer returns to the bridge to watch the Krill depart, then stares at the stars long after the ship is gone. Production Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes was jointly written by Brannon Braga and André Bormanis over a period of five weeks,@SethMacFarlane. "From story breaking to final polish, roughly 5 weeks.". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. both of whom wrote the Season 1 episode ''Krill''. The crew wanted music and a movie from the 20th century, as opposed to something closer in time to the 25th century, because they felt that predicting the sounds of the future tended to sound "hokey" and silly. "Better to steer clear," creator Seth MacFarlane later reflected.@SethMacFarlane. "Have you ever seen “future music” done in a non-hokey way by Hollywood? Better to steer clear.". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. Forest scenes were shot at Walt Disney Studio's Golden Oak Ranch near Newhall, California.@SethMacFarlane. "Night scenes were filmed at Disney Ranch". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. The mountain where Ed sends a distress signal is Rocky Peak, located in Rocky Peak Park, California.@SethMacFarlane. "A very hot, dry place called Rocky Peak". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. Preparing to air The earliest direct reference to the episode came on April 13, 2018, when actress Michele Boyd announced she was cast.@micheleboyd. "It’s all happening. ������ #newbooking #actorlifebestlife @theorville #happymichele @danielhoffagency". Instagram. April 13, 2018. The return of Chris Johnson as Cassius was revealed on IMDB on May 17, 2018."Episode #2.3". IMDB. Last accessed May 17, 2018. On December 21, 20th Century Fox published the title of this episode.The Orville. Fox UK. Last accessed Dec. 21, 2018. Jon Cassar announced that he directed this episode in an interview with the Planetary Union Network one week before airing."PLANETARY UNION NETWORK: EPISODE 26". Planetary Union Network. Jan. 13, 2019. Reception Viewership Critical response Trivia * Actor Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) and actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson) announced their engagement on the day this episode premiered.@AdriannePalicki. "So happy to spend my life with you @ScottGrimes #ido #iloveyou". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. * When their trip to Sensoria 2 is waylaid by Marauder-class fighters, Ed says that there should not be Krill in that sector. However, Ed and Janel are not far from Krill territory. Ed earlier told Kelly that Sensoria is only a few light years from the Epsilon system, which was established in Old Wounds as bordering Krill space. * When asked what other classic movies were considered for Ed and Janel's movie night, MacFarlane quipped, "Garfield and Over The Top."@SethMacFarlane. "“Garfield” and “Over The Top”". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019. * The episode features two songs by musician Billy Joel: ** "Don't Ask Me Why" plays during Ed and Janel's trip to Sensoria 2. ** "She's Always a Woman" plays during the goodbye montage at the end of the episode. * Ed's (decoy) command code is Alpha Charlie 27 Gamma 42 Delta 6. ** The phonetic alphabet is a mix of the NATO phonetic alphabet and the Greek alphabet as "Charlie" stands for the letter in the former (the letter does not exist in Greek) and "Gamma" stands for the letter in the latter (in the NATO phonetic alphabet, "Golf" is used). Mistakes * While only a possible writing error, Kelly states that the Orville's resupply mission is to the planet Epsilon 5 and Gordon asks, "Again?" But in Old Wounds, the crew's resupply mission was to Epsilon 2, not 5. This is not a mistake if there are multiple inhabited planets in the same Epsilon system. Cast Main cast * Seth MacFarlane as Cpt. Ed Mercer * Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson * Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn * Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy * J. Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr * Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus * Mark Jackson as Isaac Recurring cast * Chad L. Coleman as Klyden * Michaela McManus as Teleya / Lt. Janel Tyler * Chris Johnson as Cassius * Patrick Warburton as Lt. Tharl Guest cast * Greta Jung as Comm Officer * Giovanni Bejarano as Security Officer * Michele Boyd as Lieutenant Dorsett * Fred Tatasciore as Krill Voice * Michael Traynor as unknown * Nathan Dana Aldrich as unknown References Category:Episodes